Since February 1, 2021, Myanmar has been under siege by a bloody military junta, accused of war crimes against humanity and genocide, the latter against the Rohingya population in the past decade.
In the last four years, the junta in power has suppressed all forms of dissent, arresting tens of thousands of people, issuing numerous prison sentences, reinstating executions after about 30 years, and committing crimes as various ethnic conflicts have intensified.
Drawings created for Amnesty International Italy
Khaing Zar Aung, President of the Industrial Workers Union, was awarded the 2024 Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights. She started as a textile worker at 16 and became a key figure in the Confederation of Myanmar Trade Unions (CTUM) and the Myanmar Industrial Workers Federation (IWFM). After the 2021 coup, she went into exile in Germany, continuing to support the Burmese labor movement internationally. She tirelessly fought against the junta, mobilizing international solidarity and urging companies to withdraw from Myanmar. Khine Thinzar Aye, known as Boke Boke, a CTUM union leader, was arrested in 2022 during a strike. After over two years in prison, she escaped military surveillance. Despite enduring torture, she continues to fight for democracy and workers’ rights. Both are symbols of resilience and hope for Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi, a prominent political figure in Myanmar, has long been active in defending human rights in her country, which has been under the rule of a strict military dictatorship. She rose to prominence as the leader of the opposition movement, earning prestigious awards like the Rafto Prize and the Sakharov Prize (suspended in 2020), before being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Daughter of General Aung San, one of the key political figures in Myanmar, who negotiated the country’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, Aung San Suu Kyi faced the early loss of her father, who was assassinated when she was just two years old.
Her political involvement began in 1988 when she returned to Myanmar after many years abroad. That year, she co-founded the National League for Democracy (NLD), an opposition party against the military dictatorship. In 1989, she was placed under house arrest by the military junta. Despite her imprisonment, the NLD won a landslide victory in the 1990 elections, but the military refused to relinquish power. Aung San Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in prison or under house arrest between 1989 and 2010, when she was finally released. She led her party to victory in the 2012 and 2015 elections, the latter being the first free elections in Myanmar since 1962. In 2016, she was appointed State Counselor, one of the highest political offices in the country. However, she faced international criticism for her government’s handling of the military’s harsh repression of minority groups, especially the Rohingya. Accusations arose that she had endorsed the military’s massacres, refusing to acknowledge them as genocide. She remained in power until the February 2021 military coup, which led to her ousting and arrest.
Kyaw Moe Tun is a Burmese diplomat who served as Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva and New York. Appointed in 2018, he also represented Myanmar at the World Trade Organization and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Following the military coup in February 2021, Kyaw Moe Tun delivered a powerful speech at the UN General Assembly, urging the international community to take stronger action against the military regime. He was dismissed from his post by the military but declared his intention to continue representing Myanmar’s democratically elected government, now in exile. In March 2021, he sent letters to the UN’s General Assembly President and Secretary-General António Guterres, reaffirming his role as Myanmar’s legitimate ambassador. Kyaw Moe Tun condemned the junta and called for international intervention, including a no-fly zone over Myanmar. In August 2021, two Burmese citizens were arrested in the US for plotting to assassinate him.
Nang Khin Htwe Myint was the Prime Minister of the Karen State under the civilian government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). She is also a member of the Central Executive Committee of the NLD. On the first day of the attempted coup in February 2021, she was among the many politicians arrested by the Burmese military. After her detention, she faced numerous charges, including corruption and incitement. Her calls for soldiers to side with public opinion, after the coup, particularly angered the military. Following a series of trials, she was sentenced to 80 years in prison in December 2021, and was denied the right to a lawyer. In February 2022, her sentence was reduced to 40 years following a partial pardon. She is currently serving her sentence in Hpa-an prison, in Karen State. Nang Khin Htwe Myint’s unwavering commitment to democracy and her active role in the opposition have made her a symbol of resistance against the military dictatorship.
In 1999, Phyo Sandar Soe began working in a garment factory in Myanmar, where the working conditions were harsh: 12-hour shifts, low wages, and little regard for health and safety. She decided to leave her family and move to Thailand, where, although still difficult, working conditions were much better, thanks to the support of the trade union movement. In 2006, she returned to Myanmar and joined the Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar (CTUM). After being arrested for high treason and spending 18 months in prison, she resumed her efforts to improve workers’ conditions. Following the 2021 coup, she was one of the leaders who organized strikes and demonstrations against the military junta. Due to the harsh repression, she was forced to work underground, and after a raid on her home, she had to flee. With the help of the New Zealand trade union, she was granted asylum in New Zealand, where she continued her international advocacy, becoming a member of the ILO Board of Directors.
U Thet Hnin Aung, General Secretary of the Myanmar MICS-TUsF, has been sentenced to an additional seven years of hard labor by the military council. Arrested in June 2021, he was charged with unlawful association under Section 17(1) and sentenced to two years of imprisonment with forced labor. During the three years of his detention, he was only allowed one family visit while being held in Thaton Zay Ma Thel prison. U Thet Hnin Aung was released on June 26, 2023, but soon disappeared. Nearly five months after his disappearance, it was reported that he had been sentenced to another prison term. According to the latest reports, U Thet Hnin Aung has been accused under Section 52/A by the military council and sentenced to seven years of forced labor. The law used by the military council is the anti-terrorism law, under which U Thet Hnin Aung received the maximum penalty. His case highlights the continued persecution of political leaders and activists under Myanmar’s military regime.
Win Myint (1951) is a Burmese politician who served as the President of Myanmar from March 30, 2018, until his deposition on February 1, 2021. He became a Supreme Court lawyer in 1985 and was arrested for his role in the 8888 Uprising. After being released from prison, he ran for office and was elected in the 1990 elections, which were later annulled by the military. He resumed his political career in 2012, being elected to the House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker from 2016 to 2018. Win Myint was a member of the National League for Democracy (NLD) since its foundation in 1988, winning three electoral victories, including in his hometown Danubyu, Pathein, and Tamwe. Like many political figures, he faced multiple arrests under the military regime. On March 21, 2018, he resigned as Speaker to prepare for his candidacy for the presidency. He was elected President on March 28, 2018, with 403 votes out of 636. On February 1, 2021, he was arrested during a military coup, which followed disputed elections in November 2020. He remains in prison to this day.
Ywet Nu Aung, a 44-year-old lawyer from Mandalay, has been an outspoken advocate for human rights in Myanmar. She was part of the legal team defending Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, the detained former Prime Minister of Mandalay from the National League for Democracy (NLD), following the military coup in February 2021. Known for her fearless defense of journalists and victims of abuse, she gained prominence in 2017 when she represented Swe Win, editor of Myanmar Now, in a defamation case filed by supporters of the anti-Muslim monk Wirathu. The case led to threats against her from nationalists. In 2019, Ywet Nu Aung also gained national attention for her role as the lawyer for Victoria, a young girl who was sexually assaulted in Naypyitaw, and whose case sparked a nationwide campaign for justice.
On April 28, 2022, Ywet Nu Aung was arrested by the military junta in Mandalay after a court session related to Zaw Myint Maung’s case. Accused of donating 300,000 kyat to the People’s Defense Force (PDF), labeled a terrorist group by the junta, she was detained under the anti-terrorism law. She was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in December 2022 for violating the anti-terrorism law. The military junta has cracked down on lawyers defending political prisoners, further silencing opposition to its rule.
Khant Zin Win, Thura Maung Maung, Khant Linn Maung Maung, Zaw Lin Naing, Thiha Htet Zaw, Hein Htet e Thet Paing Oo sono giovani studenti della Dagon University di Rangoon, tutti sotto i 25 anni. Dopo il tentato colpo di stato del febbraio 2021, si sono uniti a manifestazioni pacifiche contro la giunta militare e hanno partecipato attivamente a proteste anti-golpe. Nel aprile 2022, sono stati arrestati con l’accusa di aver ucciso un tenente colonnello in pensione. Accusati di omicidio, sono stati condannati a morte nel novembre 2022. Tuttavia, dopo che le famiglie hanno fatto appello all’esercito, la condanna è stata commutata in ergastolo. Attualmente, Thura Maung Maung, Thiha Htet Zaw e Hein Htet scontano la pena nella prigione di Insein, mentre Khant Zin Win, Zaw Lin Naing, Thet Paing Oo e Khant Linn Maung Maung sono stati trasferiti alla prigione di Tharyarwaddy. Questi giovani rappresentano il coraggio e la determinazione dei birmani che lottano per la democrazia.
